The dosal vertebrae in most pterosaurs are few in number. For the most
part, earlier species have 6 or fewer and later species have 2 or 3. In Pterodactyloids,
the dorsal vertebrae are the only part of the trunk where there is a small
degree of articulation.

Typically, dorsal vertebrae are very short, with transverse processes that
support floating ribs. They tend to have thicker bone cortex around
the centrum than the other types of pterosaur vertebrae and the pneumatic
foramen are at the proximal end of the neural arch.

The example here is of
the form seen in Pteranodon. The shape is similar in most
pterosaurs.